Angelic Layer: Dance of the Moon Princess
by Sariera
Summary: Is it possible that Angels have acquired independent movement off the Layer? Or is newbie Bianka just seeing things?
1. What is it?

**Angelic Layer: Dance of the Moon Princess**

**Chapter 1**

The class was quiet. Their teacher sat at her desk punching numbers into a calculator and there was the soft hum of multiple hushed conversations around the classroom or the tap-tap of Brian's (A spindly boy with dyed spiky black hair who could drive a class crazy with his addiction to tapping out a beat on whatever available surface there was) insistent drumming on his desk with his fingers.

"Did you hear? About Angelic Layer?" said Tanya a tall blonde.

"You mean about that Japanese company that became stationed in Cape Town a few weeks ago? Don't they manufacture those new dolls?" Anne, the grade ten _belle_ replied offhandedly whilst Mxiting on her cell phone under the desk.

It was the last few days of the second term just after the exams and the teachers didn't really care what their students did as long as they stayed reasonably quiet so that they could set up reports.

"Yes! My sister's getting one for her birthday? Those toys were actually in the news! It's amazing, what those Asians can come with. Really their technological advancements are mind blowing!" Rachel, a mousy irritating girl who had arrived at the school a few months ago had turned around in her desk to face them, butting in on their conversation. Her voice was slightly high-pitched and she sniffed after every sentence.

"You sound very excited about a silly doll your _sister's _getting," Anne barely looked up from her cell phone.

But Rachel, however, couldn't take a hint and blabbered on "Who wouldn't? I mean, c'mon, a doll that moves through the process of your thought signals using the same technology they use with prostheticlimbs," Despite their dislike for Rachel half of the class had tuned in on their conversation which was...despite their dislike for childish toys, very interesting. "The doll becomes like another body part and your brain sends signals to it to move through this machine just like with any of your limbs. But like any prosthetic you have to practice a lot."

Even for a moment Anne didn't have anything to say.

"So," said a soft voice behind them. "They're actually not just dolls; they must be quite expensive." Bianka looked up from her sketching. She was generally referred to as the 'Pixy' due to her petite build and sharp angled features. She had a mop of chestnut curls cropped to just below the ears, large hazel eyes and a darkly tanned skin. She rarely spoke, and thus was left alone, her only friends being in the other class. Rachel gave an inward excited titter. Here was the chance to show the class how intelligent and knowledgeable she was.

But surprisingly someone else answered Bianka's unspoken question.

"Actually they can be payed for over a certain time period if one is unable to pay up immediately, and there's no interest charged. They're not that expensive as they're factory produced in their millions and the materials they're made out of are readily available, a hard rubbery resin made from used sunflower oil, which is unlike like plastic environmentally friendly and very durable." Lindiwe, AKA Indwe grinned at Bianka from her desk, a few seats behind Bianka's.

Exasperated at the amount of big words and confusing concepts being thrown around Anne and Tanya rolled their eyes and chatted on about something else not in the mood to think on the last few days of school. Rachel also turned around huffily, knowing she had been outsmarted.

Bianka met Indwe's eyes and smiled faintly. Indwe grinned back, quickly spoke a few words with her friends around her and came to sit in the empty desk next to Bianka's. They were sort-of friends and spoke regularly with each other in Drama and CAT, both having no friends in either class with whom they could talk to.

"You should've see Rachel's face when I had finished. Livid I tell you, Livid. I put her in her place." Indwe held her hand up for a high five and grinning Bianka complied happily.

"So how come you know so much about Angelic Layer?" Bianka asked her hand moving to cover her drawing. But Indwe saw the movement and jumped up and made a grab for it, with Bianka protesting half-heartedly.

"Girl, you really know how to draw. Ha, I can see you're very interested in Angelic Layer."

Indwe handed the paper back after looking at it long and hard. It was a rough but clear sketch of an Angel, the name of the dolls Angelic Layer were producing. The Angel had short spiky hair, longer near the front and getting shorter going towards the nape. She had a ballerina like costume, a long sleeve ballet half top over a leotard, a transparent short skirt made from one piece of material tied with a ribbon around the waist, that looked flappy and easy to move in, ballet point and stockings.

"I think you should make her," Indwe said winking.


	2. Own Battle Doll

**Chapter 2**

After school Bianka waved goodbye to her friends, SMSed her mum saying that she would be home an hour late, and made her way towards the mall nearby.

In her head she replayed her conversation with Indwe:

"_Make my own Angel?!" _

"_Yeah, why not? They only cost about four hundred rand each and you yourself told me the other day that you've got a lot of money you've been saving but don't know what to spend it on." The Xhosa girl with her dark brown skin and braided black hair had always had a very scaringly accurate memory._

"_Four hundred! Are they worth it?"_

"_Of course, I bought one myself at the Angelic Layer's opening last week." _

"_I...I'll think about it."_

Think about it. Please, what was there to think about, Indwe thought sitting in the back seat of her mum's car on the way home. She dug around in her bag and brought out her Angel, Molo. She ignored her mother's theatrical sigh when the doll appeared. Indwe didn't care if her mum thought Angelic Layer was for little girls nor anyone else. The toy was still very new in South Africa and, after a few tournaments and more International coverage on the toys about its popularity overseas, people would stop thinking of it as the next Barbie.

There are so many models! So much to choose from! Bianka was in the new Angelic Layer store that had opened in the mall, there was still a bright neon pink banner hanging outside the shop above the door announcing last week's opening and the store was surprisingly...empty. A few people milled around near the example presentation screen where tapes from Angelic Layer Battle tournaments in England and Japan were being shown. Bianka had stood listlessly in front of that screen almost every day she and her parents came to the mall. Which had only been twice since the opening so far. She sighed but then brightened. Today she would buy her own Battle doll and compete when she was ready! Now just to find an assistant. There! She spotted a bored looking woman in the shop uniform who was keeping a lazy eye over a couple of young boys poking and picking up Angel Eggs.

"Hello," she ventured. "Can you please help me?"

The woman suppressed a yawn and walked towards her. "Yes, how may I help you?"

"I'm considering the purchase of an Angel but I don't exactly know where to start and what I need to buy-"

The shop assistant's mouth hung slightly open. She looked extremely surprised. Then it seemed as if Rand signs were floating in front of her eyes for her face suddenly glowed, her mouth had curled up in a foxish grin and she had gently motioned Bianka towards a shelf.

"We have many models to choose from. I'll name them from least expensive to most: There are of course the original models that were first used in Japan. Then the more durable (but more expensive) models manufactured in China that are made of a rubber like hard resin unlike the Japanese models, then the wooden Angels from Germany, they're surprisingly durable and _very_ light weight. Finally the Glass models made in England by the Japanese Head Angelic Layer designer. Now these ones are the most expensive, made from a fibre-glass like substance, they are strong, heavy weight, and of course durable, that is their parts scarcely have to be fixed or replaced."

With a sweep of her arm she indicated at the shelf of Angel Eggs behind her scattering the group of boys.

"Err..." flabbergasted, Bianka stared depressed and confused at the many models. Finally she asked the dreaded question. "Do they cost a lot? What's the average price range for the wood Angels?"

The woman, Sari was her name, looked aghast at the girl in front of her. Why, oh why did they always have to ask and make their eyes accusingly big like that as if it was her fault the dolls cost so much? Couldn't they read the price tags instead of making her say those dreaded words which left the customer mumbling incoherently at the floor saying they'll think about it and when you turn your back they slink out of the store vowing never to return.

Her shoulders sank and she said ticking them off on her fingers. "Japanese models: Four hundred, Chinese: About four hundred and fifty and Glass: About five hundred and of course Wood models: About Four hundred and fifty all depending if you're buying a starter Egg with just the basics, a novice Egg, etc ."

Bianka smiled relieved. "Thanks, I thought they would be way more expensive."

The shop assistant almost got a heart attack.


	3. Bailarino

**Chapter 3**

"Is that all you would be needing? Usually the basic Angel pack isn't enough for most buyers-" Sari looked down at the measly few packets with barely contained disappointment. Oh, well. Who was she to persuade the girl when these things cost so much?

"No, no. I've got all I require...for now at least." Bianka smiled and was handed her bank card back. She slipped that and her Angel Layer parcels into her school bag, thanked the assistant and went outside.

Just as her retreating form disappeared into a crowd of shoppers a lone person gave her one final glance and entered the store she had just left.

Bianka began to sag under the weight of her bag. She breathed out a sigh of relief as her home swam into view through the sudden mist that had rolled in. She couldn't wait to open that Egg but that would have to wait for tonight. Her mum would find it weird if she suddenly took a bath in the middle of...

BEEP!

A motorist blew their car horn at her warning her off the road. Bianka gave a start and leaped the last few steps off the road. The car sped off. Phew. Bianka's heart beat erratically in her chest and she sank onto the soft grass beneath her. That car had just missed her. She picked herself up and hefted the bag onto her shoulders. She turned around and walked up the drive towards her front door, and inserted her key clumsily into the lock not able to stop the shaking in her fingers.

"Hello Muggie!" (Muggie was the pet name her mother gave her meaning little fruit bug in Afrikaans) Bianka was enveloped in a bone crushing bear hug her mother's sweet perfume clung faintly to her clothes and after the shock she'd just had Bianka happily breathed in the familiar scent; I made her feel safe again.

Her mother let go and wiped off the flour she had left on the back of her daughter's shirt. "Sorry, dear, I've been baking bread and I forgot to wipe my hands clean after I had rolled the dough," she smiled at her daughter her blue eyes twinkling and her short boyish styled honey blonde hair fluffed up and speckled with flour. How did that get there? Bianka thought thinking sceptically of her mother's baking skills. Sure she could fry, dice, chop and do anything else culinary related _except _bake and Bianka wasn't looking forward to tonight's meal not if it involved this latest experiment.

Her mother saw _that_ look and placed her hands in a mock angry position on her hips. "Not to worry, Bianka dear. I've followed the recipe to the book this time and I won't add any strange ingredients like last time. I never thought that pepper would make chocolate muffins taste so...bad. So, tell me what you've been up to?" She led her daughter into the spotless kitchen that was clean except for a large mound of dough and scattered flour on the nearby countertop. While her mother rolled out and kneaded the dough with her knuckles Bianka told her about buying an Angel, what the dolls could do and she carefully evaded telling mum what it had cost. Through it all her mother only grunted a few times and nodded her head between sentences. At the end of her account her mother turned to face her and smiled.

"Whatever such a doll cost you better _not_ grow out of it and you better look after it well. I don't want any complaining later on that you should've spent the money on something else. Now quickly help me clean up while I set this baby to rise. After that you can scram." And with that her mother dusted her hands off, placed the dough in a plastic bowl and set it down in the sunniest spot inside the house. Bianka sighed as she cleaned. If her mother hadn't noticed it was over-cast and misty. That bread definitely won't be ready by tonight.

Inside her room Bianka unpacked her school bag which only contained her purchases, a few pencils and her sketch pad from which she removed the sketch of the Angel. She then took out the Angel Egg from one of the pink plastic bags and carefully unwrapped the glittery crinkly pink paper that it was protectively wrapped in. Her face glowed with joy as she once again marvelled at the Angel inside's design. She then removed the contents of the other parcels and sighed looking at the pieces of material she had chosen. How was she ever going to make her doll's costume? She could barely stitch on pockets and buttons to shirt and fix tears. Unless...

"Mum!" she called crashing downstairs.

"Okay...Now I should just open the Egg under the water and... _viola!" _The plastic see through Egg container opened without a sound and the Angel floated out into the warm bath water.

"I feel ten again," Bianka whispered plucking up the Angel from where it had sank to the bottom of the bathtub. She had finally decided on the Chinese model when she had thought back to what Indwe had said in class.

She had chosen a doll with almost the same colour skin as hers (There had been five to chose from) where hers was real the doll's was sprayed on mechanically nevertheless both Bianka _and_ the doll were glowing by the time Bianka got out of the bath. (AN: Too much bubble bath I reckon) She 

quickly changed into her pyjamas, and cradling the doll to her chest made her way to her bedroom, flopped down on the bed and stared at her doll.

"What to name you..." Bianka pondered whilst making the doll do a Can-can on her pillow. She made her doll twirl and do a forward flip onto the sheets and give a bow to an imaginary crowd.

"I wish I could dance... You shall become that wish." Then Bianka leaned over and grabbed one of the pencils which she had thrown onto the floor earlier. With a neat flourish she gently brought the pencil down on each of the Angel's shoulders while saying, "I dub thee, Bailarino do Luna, Dancer of the Moon..."

**Weird name I know. It's Portuguese, and just sounded cool. **

**Since I'm Afrikaans myself there will be Afrikaans words and names in this story but I'll try to explain what each means as the story goes along. Oh, I'm sorry I didn't say this last time but Rand is much weaker than the American dollar (1about R6) and the pound and Euro (£1about R9), so therefore the dolls cost quite much and I'd thought I'd have a chapter on that i.e. the last chapter about the cost of these dolls something no one has tackled yet which I think is a very important aspect being quite a stingy and money saver person myself myself. **

**Oh and please comment, give constructive critic, anything as long as I know someone's actually reading this story. Thankies and cyber hugzzz to those of you who have!**


	4. Back to Basics

Back to basics

Bianka smiled up lovingly at her mother and then back at Bailarino who was now sporting her very own original outfit which Bianka had designed and her mother had made.

Lene' received her daughter's hug happily and turned to clean up the scraps of cut off materials lying around the sewing machine.

Bianka had done the doll's hair early that morning before going to school. It was a mink black wig, styled so that the hair hung in long spikes -up to shoulder length- near the front and gradually shortened and softened into short fluff nearing the nape. A blood red silk ribbon, which her mother had fished out from her accessories box, was tied around the doll's head. Tiny lolly pop earrings hung from equally tiny earlobes and a small pearl (her mother had happily given up to Bianka) swung from a white silken choker that fit snugly around the delicate neck. The sleeves of the white ballet half-top hung to the doll's knees and the sleeve ends were sloppily cut and frayed purposefully. The leotard underneath was like a swimming costume, and a deep, almost, maroon red. A transparent short skirt made from one square piece of white gauze was wound securely around the hips, and tied together via a piece of red leftover ribbon, the skirt of which looked flappy and easy to move in. Bailarino also wore a pair of white stockings and blood red ballet points.

"She looks like Snow White, minus the modern tan," Lene' said finding it hard not to be proud of her work. Lene' was and has been a genius with doll's clothes since she could sew.

"_Ja,_ that was really an impulsive decision on my part. I just wanted her to look a _little_ bit like me. It doesn't make her seem so alien." Bianka blinked and for a moment it seemed as if the doll winked. But she dismissed it; and thanking her mother once again she ran upstairs. Time to program Bailarino.

"Yada, yada, yad yad." Bianka muttered offhandedly. She had inserted the disk into the Angelic Layer's small and slim notebook laptop that came with every doll. Then her doll was levitated and scanned between two circular metallic rings, one that stayed stationery on the table, the other rose up into the air and a wall of light emitted from the disks and encircled Bailarino. Now she just had to get through the program and...

Her Angel's name was asked first and Bianka typed in **'Bailarino'** keeping in mind that the 'do Luna' would only be known to her as a matter of personal preference.

'_Is your Angel going to be light weight, middle weight or heavy weight? Please take the Angel's model into consideration before choosing.'_ For a moment Bianka sat staring at the screen and then typed in, **'Light weight.'**

'_Please choose three attributes from the list below that you wish your Angel's skills to be focused on.'_

Hmm...Bianka then clicked on the given: _'Defence, speed and agility.' _

'_Please choose five personality traits for your Angel from the list below.'_

Wow! Bianka scanned the long list, not understanding how this step in the programming was actually necessary considering the fact that she would control the doll. How was a mindless toy supposed to be 'Cheerful' for crying out loud? She sighed and chose four positive attributes: _'Fair, honourable, peaceful, playful,' _and only one negative_ 'introverted.'_ She didn't understand why introverted was under the negative list as she herself was an introvert. She shook her head angrily and continued on up to the last question.

It was already dark when, with a sudden yawn, Bianka, closed the program and lifted her finished Angel out of the ring of light. Bailarino looked...more real now, scaringly so. Bianka expected her to snap her eyes open any minute and shout "Boo!" But half relieved and half disappointed she got into bed that night easily falling asleep despite her excitement.

The last day of school dawned and slowly Bianka crawled out of bed and landed with a thud on the carpeted floor followed by Bailarino who decided to join in the fun and also tumble out of bed. The doll smacked the slightly winded Bianka in the face and rolled off her face onto the floor next to her. Bianka rubbed her offended nose which was turning red.

"I never realised how big and..._heavy_ these dolls were," she said picking up Bailarino. The doll looked delicate and breakable but Bianka had seen via Angelic Layer tournament videos how one doll could seriously damage another and she knew that on the Layer they could do much more damage than fall on someone's nose. She was actually scared for Bailarino's part.

At school, sitting in register class, Indwe once again joined her and they got to talking about Angelic Fights.

"I've got a brilliant idea! How about you and I head down to the Angelic Layer Stadium to practice, or in your case get your very first feel of how to control your Angel on the Layer," Indwe suggested, both she and Bianka having told each other of their dolls.

"Uh," the invitation caught Bianka surprise and for a moment she sat mulling it over. "Yeah, that sounds like an excellent plan. When though?"

"Hmm...Today actually. I'm there every Friday afterschool anyway for an hour or two so around the time the school closes today will be okay with me if it is for you?"

Bianka nodded. "Yes, of course. Umm...Where is the Stadium exactly?"

Indwe faked a disappointed sob of disbelief and threw her hands up theatrically in the air.

"You drama people, seriously," Bianka said giving way to a rare smile.

Indwe folded her arms and pretended to look offended. "You're one too you know." They both laughed at this unaware of a certain sniffling mousy person listening.

The Stadium was massive...and the amount of people in comparison to the buildings size was sadly disappointing. But Bianka shook this thought from her head and drank in the strange foreign quality of the Stadium. It couldn't have been designed by a South African. As one walked in through the large arched doorway the Tournament Layer lay in front, a large circular structure encircled by a pavilion that could probably fit thousands of people easily. A few steps from the entrance's right a doorway cut into the pavilion and stepping inside Bianka found herself in a well lighted corridor that smelled of fresh paint. She continued down the corridor and came to what seemed like a dead end.

She stood there, feeling increasingly stupid and confused. On impulse she took a step forward and a red laser passed over Bailarino quickly and it appeared as if the wall just slid away. She realised that it was just a sliding door cleverly designed against people who: "Just want to take a look around." Looks as if Bailarino is my access card in these kinds of places, she thought. This technology was really amazing and she supposed that the entrance doors, as well, had only opened because of Bailarino. She stepped into a spotless white corridor lighted by green fluorescent lights and, at the indication of an arrow on the wall that read: **Practice Rooms** beneath it, she turned right into a room that could've fit most of her house. The sound inside was almost deafening and with the arrival of a few more people it could've been overcrowded. Bianka even spotted another room that led form this one which also seemed packed.

There were six circular tables around the room that looked like mini versions of the one in the Stadium itself. There were about twenty people cheering or jeering at every table and when Bianka neared one of them she could make out two people sitting on a chair thing fixed to the ground. They had these funny helmets with wings and transparent visors on their heads and they were watching the table top, the Layer, with rapt attention as their dolls battled and fought.

Amazing! Bianka thought watching the dolls weave and spin, jump and tackle each other with no apparent effort. Suddenly she came to, as if from a dream, when she heard her name called. She turned only to be almost knocked over by a boy slightly taller than her.

"Sorry," she heard the boy say quickly.

For a few seconds she struggled to get back her balance and composure. She was blushing furiously thinking of what could've happened if she had been unbalanced. She could've fallen straight onto the Layer table behind her, putting the fight to an abrupt halt. She was too angry to confront the boy knowing she would put up a scene if she did. She kept her burning face down, ignored the boy who was still apologising and stormed into the other practice room she had spotted earlier.

Disappointed, Etienne watched her go.

"Bianka!" Someone grabbed her arm and she came face to face with a broadly smiling Indwe, her perfectly white teeth in stark contrast with her dark glowing skin. "Finally, I thought I would have to settle for a match with that brat of a nine year old at the info desk, who just because she has an Angel she thinks she's entitled to scream and throw a tantrum because she can't make her do tricks like mine on her first day." Indwe rolled her eyes and steered Bianka to an isolated table near the wall. She pushed Bianka into one of the chairs and grabbed something off the table.

"Here," Indwe handed her one of the strange headgears. Bianka put it on and pressed the button on either side- so that an Angel wing unfurled on each side- as she had seen people do. Indwe looked slightly impressed and sitting down as well she put on hers.

"Now, you can say an Angel prayer thingy every time you throw your Angel onto the Layer, but I suppose you don't have one yet-."Indwe began.

"I do. Remember, I've been interested in Angelic layer almost since the day it came out in Japan and I've watched many tournament videos, researched it..." Bianka cut in, staring at the Layer which was now activated.

"You know I liked you better when you didn't say anything at all," Indwe replied grinning. "In that case all that remains is that we begin."

Indwe whispered something in Xhosa and threw her doll onto the Layer. Bianka watched entranced as Indwe's doll, Molo (A middleweight Angel with black hair braided with beads, wearing a short skirt, a glittery tank top with a plunging neck line, knee length boots and hoop earrings) spun in the air twice and landed with her knees bent, one hand on the Layer top her head bowed. With no warning Molo sprang up and grinned up at Bianka who was still clutching Bailarino.

"I forgot how much it scared me that they can actually have expressions on the Layer." Bianka muttered glaring at Molo who only grinned back. Hesitantly, Bianka half whispered her Angel prayer, feeling very self-conscious, "Let the silver moonlight bring radiance to your dance, Bailarino." She gently threw Bailarino onto the Layer and that's when Indwe started laughing.

Bianka felt the blood rise to her face. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

Indwe was clutching her stomach so hard she was laughing. After a while she stopped and wiped a few laugh tears from her cheeks. "Besides the fact that your Angel isn't moving at all, no, nothing's wrong. And I would never laugh at a Newbie anyway. I was laughing at Sniffy who seems to have acquired a dangerous and teary opponent." Indwe tipped her head to her right.

Bianka looked at the table next to them and only just managed to stifle her own laughter. Rachel, AKA Sniffy, was looking very depressed at the Layer in front of her where, what seemed to be her Angel, was currently being whacked and pummelled by the doll of her nine year old opponent who was smirking insanely, happy at last in the knowledge that she could beat up an older person's Angel. Sniffy's jaw dropped as her Angel was sent out of the Layer with a simple kick.

"If your Angel exits the Layer's boundaries your opponent immediately wins," Indwe said. Bianka only nodded at this. The little girl squealed in delight, stuck her tongue out at Sniffy, and, skipping, left the room with her doll tucked under her arm.

"For your sake I hope I won't beat you _that_ easily," Indwe looked back at Bianka.

"For your sake I hope you won't lose that easily," Bianka retorted, but her face softened and she smiled. "Thanks again for offering to teach me."

"No problem."

Unnoticed by them, someone edged closer to their table to better watch the fight.

(_Ja_: Yes.)

**((A/N: Ack! This story is going very slowly and languidly at the moment, even I have to admit, but don't worry, the beginning is boring I know but it gets much better as the story proceeds. There are more of the things of what the summary said and I might bring in a very interesting character and one or two rivals. I just like explaining and given a description of everything, but I'll try to minimise the amount of descriptions and get more dialogue...interesting dialogue that doesn't bore you to tears. Bye bye for now))**


	5. Paranoia

_**Back to Basics 2**_

She couldn't make Bailarino move.

"Why?!" Bianka hissed under her breath. Frustrated she stared at the immobile form of her Angel on the Layer as if by staring at it long enough it would stand. She ignored Indwe's blabber, too angry with herself to listen to what she was saying.

"Visualise your doll, in your mind, standing up," a male voice said soothingly from behind her. Grinding her teeth, she bid as the strange voice told her and she watched wide eyed as Bailarino shivered slightly, propped herself up on her elbows and continued to rise until she was standing, shakily, her knees looking as if they would buckle any moment, but at least she stood.

Indwe, on the other side of the layer sighed. She had no idea who this guy was but Bianka listened to him and that was all that mattered.

"Here I come Bianka!" she said.

Molo came charging at Bailarino, and leaped into the air above her.

"Now," issued the voice again softly from behind her. "Visualise your doll stepping back, and then throwing all her weight into an upwards thrust with the shoulder, straight into the other Angel's gut." Bianka nodded affirmation.

As Molo came down Bailarino took a few steps back and launched herself into the air towards Molo, thrusting her right shoulder into the other Angel's stomach. Molo flew backwards from the power of the blow and just managed to twist in the air and land on both feet.

Uh,oh, thought Bianka. How to get down without injuring Bailarino?! She tried to imitate Molo but in her panic she couldn't picture Bailarino doing that neat little twist. She clenched her fists and quickly shut her eyes as Bailarino came to a very clumsy landing on her face. She was sure she heard something snap.

"Ouch!" Indwe winced and then looked up to see why that smart-ass from before hadn't helped Bianka this time. But the space behind Bianka's seat was empty. The guy was gone. Bianka saw Indwe looking and turning in her seat she craned her neck to glance behind her. Her face fell slightly, and she flushed angrily thinking how he made her do all that only to desert her at the most crucial moment.

"Okay, this time listen to _moi_. I'm not a pro at giving advice like that guy but I at least stick around. Now, make Bailarino stand and position her in a defensive pose like this," she made Molo stand, facing Bianka, slightly turned sideways, her feet spaced and her left leg a few paces in front of the other, and her hands were balled in front of her chest, the left arm raised to neck level protectively. "Basically, if you can visualise attacking and defending and do so quickly and on time before your opponent makes their move you should be alright. The hard part is actually making your doll move according to your thoughts. But don't worry, you get used to it, and after a while Bailarino's movements will become more fluid and easy and you'll be able to tackle more difficult manoeuvres."

"Thanks," said Bianka softly smiling at Indwe.

Indwe waved her hand dismissively. "No biggie."

Bailarino stood, less shakily than before and slowly positioned herself in the defensive position Molo was currently in. Her body language seemed to say, "I'll probably lose but I'll try my best."

Did she see right or did Bailarino just show the thumbs-up? Bianka looked up and met Indwe's eyes, but Indwe only smiled and made her own Angel copy the sign.

Through the next half an hour, Bianka struggled to concentrate on the battle and Indwe's instructions and tips. At the end of the match she said goodbye to Indwe half-absentmindedly, grabbed Bailarino and headed outside. A few people milled around near the entrance chatting and showing each other their Angels and the boy who had bumped into her earlier was leaning against the wall where the bicycle rack was. Bianka didn't take any notice of him and moved to insert the combination into the lock securing the chains around her bicycle. The padlock clicked open and stuffing Bailarino, the chains and the padlock into her backpack she got on her bike and was just about to take off when a voice startled her, "Hey, umm...Please wait a moment."

She glanced over her shoulder at the boy who was taking a few uncertain steps towards her. She first noticed his dyed black hair, pale skin and one silver stud in his left earlobe first and her neck stiffened. She didn't trust his type and just because he had an Angel of his own (which peeked out from his black hoodie's front pocket) didn't mean that was going to change.

"Sorry," she replied her tone stating the opposite of what she said. "I'm late." She smiled coldly and sped off. It was only later, as she neared home, that she recalled where she had heard his voice before: her strange benefactor who had disappeared as quietly as he had appeared during the fight. Her fingers tightened on the handlebars, her knuckles turning white. _He better stay out of my way. I won't let what happened last time when one of his type came along happen again. _

As she lay in her bed that night contemplating her actions she knew deep down that she was just being paranoid, thinking that every emo wannabe was out to get her. Out to get her like Jason. But she couldn't just forget what had happened.

Time definitely does not heal all wounds, especially those of the soul. A deep jagged tear cut through the fabric of her soul that screamed help to anyone who was brave and patient enough to get past the steely reinforced wall of suspicion and mistrust she had built up around herself. One that...

"Aaah!"

"Aaaaaah!"

Their screams cut through the relatively peaceful silence of the house and the two sat staring at each other across the length of the bed. Bailarino folded her small arms on her chest and plopped down on the soft duvet at the foot of the bed, her regarding Bianka shrewdly.

"Scare at me like that again Bianka and be sure to hear from the Angel Complaints Commission. I'm sure you seriously damaged my circuits just now..."


	6. Chasing after Ghosts

_**Oops...I was supposed to upload this just before I went on my writers block thingy...Sowwwy**_

_**Chasing after ghosts**_

"Hnh?!" Bianka's tongue felt paralysed from shock and she was sure she would start whimpering if she didn't compose herself. _I _must _be dreaming. This is soooo not possible and is very whacked even for my vivid imagination. _She managed to articulate the senseless babbling she was mumbling, "What...How did this...Whadda ya mean _I_ scared _you!?" _Anger had replaced her shock and was lending her some semblance of control and sanity.

"I mean what I said. It's not like this is the first time that you've seen me. We've known each other for..." Bailarino paused and counted the days off on her tiny digits. "Three days. Now, that's been plenty of time for me to get used to _your_ weirdness and I'm finding it hard-"

"_My _weirdness!?" Bianka cut in.

"To believe that you're still not used to me and I find myself to be a perfectly logical and understanding Angel," Bailarino continued taking no notice of Bianka's interruption. "I'm sure other Angels aren't finding it as hard as I am to reason with you as with their own humans."

Bianka was for once at a loss for words and her mouth opened and closed soundlessly her eyes slightly glazed over.

"And _must_ I inform you that whoever did the stitching on my leotard was way too stingy with the material. I'm sure even my re-enforced skeleton is finding it hard not to cave in under the tension and pressure that's placed on my delicate shell. And what's with the sleeves?! I mean, really, it's _pretty_ but it's turning out not to be so functional." At last she paused and plucked despondently at one of her scraggly sleeves while Bianka looked on angrily.

"My mother is _not_ stingy and I think the sleeves don't look too bad when you fight."

Bailarino rolled her chocolate brown eyes and mumbled, "You're not the one who does the fighting."

Before Bianka could think up a witty retort her father burst into the room shouting her name. Quickly Bianka composed her features and got rid of the angry frown around her mouth. Her father sighed when he saw that she was safely abed looking relatively calm and undisturbed.

"Papa? Is...umm...something wrong?"

"We heard you scream," he stated matter-of-factly sitting down on the edge of her bed and Bianka thought she heard a squeak of protest. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I just had a bad dream. I think I shouldn't have eaten that ice-cream so late just before bed." Bianka attempted a weak laugh and gave her father a thin smile. As always he listened more to what was said than giving a shot at gauging her mood.

Her father smiled, planted a whiskery kiss on her cheek and ran his hand through his still thick mop of, as yet, black hair. "Goodnight then _senioritta." _He switched off the light.

"Goodnight papa," she greeted and crawled under the duvet, pretending to try and fall asleep.

As the door closed behind him she let loose a very relieved sigh and felt around in the dark for Bailarino. Her hands closed around her frail and limp form. Bianka gasped and brought Bailarino closer to her face for better inspection. In the pale light from the street lamp she could make out her Angel's lifeless form, her legs and arms were dangling in the air and her eyes were closed. She looked so...angelic that Bianka couldn't believe she had just minutes before set up such a fuss. And Bianka was sure she hadn't imagined it all, she believed her own eyes and she _desperately _wanted to believe it had happened.

_**A/N **_

_**This was Bianka's very own fairytale and she wasn't about to let it go even if it was the product of her own imagination fuelled by her loneliness and her despair and the countless amount of disappointments she had lived through every time one of her dreams didn't come tr-**_

"_Hey! Miss narrator, please enough with the soppy corny stuff and did you know that you left out at least two commas in that whole sentence? Really, I would've thought-"_

_**SighGoodnight Bailarino.**_

_**Anyway...I really eeealy hope you enjoyed this and any critique and other comments would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and what do you think of Bailarino? She is a little busy body AND a little imperious...**__BUT__**, I'll explain later how her moods work and **__how__** she works!**_

_**Sorry this was so short but I need time to brainstorm and I decided to just quickly upload this in case I don't upload in a long time which is a high possibility. I have a big surprise installed for you that actually involves some of the original cast from Angelic Layer. **__(Very unenthusiastic cheer in background)__** Yes, Bailarino...yay. **_


	7. Milkshakes

_**Milkshakes**_

Misaki Suzuhara, listlessly stirred her coffee and sighed. Where in the world was Ojiro?

"Miss? Are you ready to order now?" A waiter appeared at her elbow trying his hardest not to stare appreciatively at her petite form and her pretty features.

"Umm...No, thank you. Just a few more minutes." Her voice was soft and held a distinct British accent. He could tell she was Asian by her dark hair and her very eastern features but her English was amicable.

As the waiter left Misaki resisted the urge to try Ojiro's cell. Obviously he would be too busy sight-seeing to notice if she called. She was sure he was getting just as eccentric as his older brother, but she guessed genius's are like that. He had graduated from university two years ago with honours and just last year Misaki herself had finished high school and she was still trying to decide whether to study next year or follow up on her mother's invitation to work for Angelic Layer.

As if, Misaki thought. What job would they give me? I can't just do tours and demonstrations all the time; there _will_ come a day when someone else takes on the name of champion or runner up. Maybe they can pay me to cook for them...

"Misaki!" Suddenly she was enveloped by strong arms and a kiss was planted on her forehead.

Ojiro beamed at her and sat down. "Sorry, I'm late; I totally forgot the time. I was checking out the Angelic Layer Stadium here in Canal Walk. ((A/N: Canal walk is a _**massive**_ shopping centre in Cape Town )) Of course it doesn't come close to what we have in Tokyo but it's bigger than the main one in America surprisingly enough."

He ordered milkshakes for them both and they chatted excitedly about seeing everyone after this last tour of the year.

"Oh, Ojiro?" Misaki wiped the milkshake froth from her upper lip.

"Yes?"

"I forgot to tell you. Mr Ichan told me just before we left that he and my mother are going away for a few weeks to Thailand since she can walk now. There won't be the stress about accommodating that wheelchair anymore either."

"That's great! I can't wait to see them again. When we left I remember that Ichan was trying to talk your mum out of going bungee jumping." Ojiro laughed and leaned back in his chair.

"Oh yes!" Misaki giggled thinking back on it. "But I'm really happy for her. She refused to marry Ichan until she could walk and now she's postponing their marriage again until after they arrive back in Tokyo. I think she's a little bit scared."

Ojiro reached over and took her hands in his. "Who wouldn't be? My brother is really something else. Once he gets attached to you there's nooooo escape," he said dropping his voice and glancing around suspiciously in a mock imitation of Ichan.

Misaki held her stomach as she laughed. "C'mon, Ojiro, we better not be late; or else the team will think up another reason why they shouldn't have brought us along even though we all know that they enjoy our company on _almost_ every tour."

They payed the bill and exited the cafe'.

Ojiro grinned. "Almost..."

"Hey! Don't look at me like that! It wasn't my fault I bought the wrong bottle; I was still getting used to all the foreign labels and this one didn't seem much different from all the rest!"

"You could've read it."

"I was in a hurry. That store had almost nothing that I needed."

"Okay okay," Ojiro held up his hands in apology. "But it was very funny to see their expressions as they ate it."

Misaki laughed gleefully. Ojiro wondered again why he was so lucky. Her cheeks were flushed and her glossy, now shoulder length hair, bounced and caught the light as she laughed.

Ahhh...Saturday. The first day of the three week autumn holiday was sunny and slightly chilly. For the first time that year Bianka yearned for a warm woolly scarf or a thick pair of socks. She got up early, seven am, and attacked her cupboard with a frenzy. Shirts, shorts and flip-flops were tossed out to form a messy pile on the floor behind and hidden lollypops, liquorice sticks and sour worms she had forgotten about were quickly demolished with gurgles of pleasure. The pile of summer clothes traded places with winter clothes that had been packed away in a sealed cardboard box that smelled strongly of moth balls. She did keep a few T-shirts, just in case the weather turned unpredictable.

Finally she was done and she stretched out tiredly on her carpet sucking uninterested on a string of liquorice. She sighed happily as she surveyed her room. The walls were painted a light olive green and the two single beds had mismatching colourful quilts and floral patterned pillow cases. Her cupboard was an antique, hand carved in minute detail from walnut that her father had brought from Portugal when he moved here. Her desk, against the wall facing the beds, was also an antique (her parents collected the stuff), an old fashioned roll-top desk with tiny little drawers and one or two cylinder shaped indentations where ink bottles used to be placed in. An old bay window, with rusty frames, looked out on the overgrown garden next door. An Angelic Layer bag poked out from under her bed and the little Angelic Layer laptop stood atop her bedside table with Bailarino busily punching away at the keys with her fists...

"Ack! Gerrof that! You're going to damage it!" Bianka sprang up and rushed to the laptop's defence. She swatted Bailarino onto the bed and checked to see what the little miscreant had been up to. The screen went black and the laptop gave a sad beep before turning off completely.

"What...Did you just shut it off?" Bianka asked hopefully still staring at the blank screen.

"No, I crashed it. I just typed in a code in the left hand console to activate the virus," came the defiant reply from the bed.

Bianka's left eye twitched and the muscles in her hand stiffened. "And where," she said slowly, "did you get the virus?"

"I scanned myself with those disks, and then I checked out my status, you know-to make sure I'm up to standard, no glitches and stuff, when all of a sudden a little warning box popped up. It was a high level Trojan virus and it asked the activation code. For some reason my hard disk let loose a stream of data and I couldn't help myself. So I typed in the first code that came to mind and voila! You have instant crash down. That was really an amazing virus! It had the feel of Angelic Layer about it." Bailarino smiled and grinned cheerfully, not up to date with the full implications of what she had done.

"What are you?" Bianka's mouth fell open and she slowly sat down on the other bed.

Bailarino looked up at her confused. "I'm your Angel. Duh."

"No. I mean, why can you speak? Interpret, store data, move?!"

"Ooh. Let me properly introduce myself. I am Angel Type 005, a unique brand of Angels created secretly by ENA, making use of NANO technology, heat, sound and vision sensors, solar power, trajectory mechanics and evolutionary software, meaning I can learn from mistakes and actually develop a unique personality that can change or stay constant depending on my owner's personality. I also have moods, that spring from certain situations, not as drastic as a human but still very advanced. I can store up to a capacity of 500 00 Giga Bytes and can add or delete any data I deem unnecessary. I can act upon free will, but I am restricted to a certain number of rules that keep me secret, and others around me safe."

"Is that all?" Bianka asked after a long silence, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"And I have a sense of humour and wit, but in this case I'm finding it hard to find your sarcasm funny." Bailarino screwed up her eyes folding her arms across her chest.

"May I ask, oh special Angel, why I've never heard of NANO Angels? Nor ENA for that matter? What is ENA exactly?"

"I thought the term, _secret_ implied it all. ENA stands for Electronic NANO Angels, an organisation that is keeping most of Angelic Layer scientists, except the founder, in the dark about the NANO Angels."

Bianka flopped onto the bed Bailarino was occupying and lightly squezzed the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and thumb. "And why would they do that? Keep them in the dark?"

"Suprise. The founder is eccentric in that way."

"Now what exactly do they want from buyers like me who accidentally buy a NANO Angel?"

"Nothing is an accident. But yes, I know what you mean. Well..." Bailarino closed her eyes for her moment thinking, looking scarily human. "Just love and nurture us! And when we enter a contest we will be watched closely, results will be analysed by ENA and if necessary any hiccup in the ENA project will be sorted out."

Bianka had turned her head away when she spoke. "So we're just subjects to experiment on? What if you malfunction or something?" Bianka shook inwardly. She didn't want to think of her Angel going up in smoke.

"I assure you that is **not **possible. Only very minor anomalies remain. So we are so to say ready to launch. The founder just wants to know how people will react."

"How...How many _test subjects_ are there? How many Angels like you have been sold?"

"A few thousand. In South Africa...about ten."

"Why so few?" Bianka turned to face Bailarino her eyebrows shooting up.

"If you haven't noticed, your country isn't very psyched up about Angelic Layer."

"Just happened too fast for us. We're still getting over the idea of no personal cars and lights out after ten. The country is in a state of panic." Bianka laughed nervously.

Bailarino gave an equally nervous smile. "Don't tell anyone about me okay? Company rules."

"Sure." But Bianka looked far away thinking back to a few months before. Before Angelic Layer had taken her mind off things.

**A/N**

**Now that's what I call lots of dialogue! I'll try and hurry up with the next chapter. Bye bye **


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